The popularity of money clips has resulted at least in part from the fact that wallets tend to be undesirably bulky. Because of such bulk, they customarily produce unsightly and revealing bulges when carried, for example, in a trouser pocket, thereby detracting from the appearance and fit of the clothing and increasing the ease, if not the risk, of theft. The use of money clips only partially solves the problem, however, because a user may also wish to carry a limited number of cards such as, for instance, a drivers' license and selected credit cards. While it is not uncommon for those who use money clips to wrap bills around such cards before applying the clips, such practice has a number of shortcomings, including the fact that access to the drivers' license or any of the cards requires exposure of the currency wrapped about such cards.
While wallets of various constructions have been known in the art, as represented, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,360,027, 2,737,991, 1,269,247, and Des. 241,189, applicant is unaware of any wallet constructions which overcome these problems. Accordingly, a main aspect of this invention lies in providing a wallet construction that is relatively thin and yet provides separate pockets for currency and cards, with the card pocket being arranged so that unfolding of the wallet, and exposure of the currency contained in it, are unnecessary for the purpose of removing and inserting such cards. In its most efficient form, the wallet may be formed from a single strip of flexible sheet material or, alternatively, from two pieces of such material. The finished wallet comprises a rectangular cover, ideally formed from a single thickness of flexible sheet material foldable along a transverse midline, and a card holder having a pair of generally rectangular superimposed panels joined together at their edges along two sides and one end to define an end-opening pocket. The card holder is disposed along the inner surface of the foldable cover with the opening of the pocket facing outwardly at one end of the cover. That panel of the card holder disposed immediately adjacent the inner surface of the cover is connected to the cover along one side edge and an end edge of such panel. When the wallet is in use, currency is folded about the card holder and is concealed from view by the cover and, since the pocket of the card holder faces endwise, cards may be removed from or inserted into the pocket without opening the cover.
The wallet may be fabricated from either one or two pieces of sheet material. In both cases a small rectangular patch of sheet material is secured to an elongated rectangular strip of such material so that the patch overlies one end portion of the strip and is secured to that strip along the side and end edges of the panel to define a pocket having an opening facing away from the end of the strip to which the patch is secured. Where a one-piece construction is employed, the patch is in fact an extension of the strip and is reversely folded over the end portion of the strip as a first step in the securing operation. Where a two-piece construction is employed, the patch is a separate element which is then sealed to the strip as described.
In both the one-piece and two-piece constructions, the remaining steps in fabricating the wallet are essentially the same. The elongated rectangular strip, with the patch secured to its end portion, is then reversely folded away from the patch along a transverse fold line adjacent to and parallel with the opening of the pocket. A pair of adjacent side edges of the strip are then secured together along one side edge of the patch to produce a second pocket or chamber for receiving and retaining currency.
Other advantages, features, and objects of the invention will become apparent from the specification and drawings.